Frozen Fire
by Masked Revenge
Summary: Leo and Raph are fighting again. But this time, it gets them in deeper trouble than they could've imagined. What will happen when the two brothers are trapped together. And what happens when you bring up the fact that they can't stand the cold for very long? Brother fluff is everywhere. Enjoy.
1. Fight

**So I tried my best to make this story as accurate as possible. I found it a bit easier to write this story with Splinter and Shredder still alive. Hope you guys enjoy this! Please review/comment!**

"Master Shredder, please. I understand you're upset, but I can do better!" Baxter Stockman promised. "I've done an extended amount of research and I have a trap for the turtles that is sure to work!" The Shredder looked down at the man on his knees. He had been given too many chances and all of them failed. But his need to punish his servants was overruled by his vendetta against his enemy. "Very well. You may set your trap for the turtles, but if you make one more mistake" The Shredder started as he held his blades up to Baxter's head. "It will be your last." Shredder left the room along with Tiger Claw, Razar, Fish Face and a few FootBots.

* * *

"Raph! You can't go topside! Gang activity is getting way too high and the Shredder is still out there" Leo reasoned. Donnie sighed as he buried his head further in his book. Leo and Raph have been arguing for who knows how long because Raph had claimed that his punching bag wasn't enough of a challenge because it didn't fight back and that he wanted to go topside to go 'bust some heads'. But of course Leo had to reject the idea and tick Raph off again. "All the more reason to go up to the surface. The longer we stay down here, the more chances idiots like the Purple Dragons get to steal from others." Raph replied. Donnie inwardly nodded to himself, silently agreeing with his hot-headed brother. "Raph, why can't you understand that I'm just trying to keep you safe!" Leo yelled. "Well I don't need protection from you!" Raph yelled back as he walked over to the exit o the lair. "Raph. You're not leaving." Leo said one last time. "Oh yeah? And who's gonna stop me?" Raph asked, turning to face his older sibling. Donnie watched as his older brother said nothing, but drew his weapons. Raph followed suit. Donnie silently put his book down next to him and stood up, walking over to get his Sensei before things got too heated.

Raph and Leo had a history of getting into fights. When they were little and didn't have real weapons they would wrestle a lot to get rid of their anger. But now that they had actual weapons things could get really dangerous really quick. "Does me being leader mean nothing to you?" Leo asked as he circled around. "Why do you always do that? You always have to make sure that we all know that you're the leader! You think you're so much better than us just because Splinter likes you more? Well you're not!" Raph yelled as he threw himself forward. "You think I chose to be leader?! You think I chose to have extra training and less sleep? You think I chose to have more responsibilities?" Leo asked as he defended himself with with twin katana. "No, I don't. But I do think you take this leader thing to your advantage. You're always bossing us around and telling us what to do and how to do it." Raph said as he came back with a low kick to sweep Leo's feet out from under him. Raph's feet connected with Leo's legs and the eldest fell to the ground, but he quickly composed himself and hopped out of the way of Raph's incoming fist.

"I only do it to protect you, Donnie and Mikey. And it's not like it matters anyway, you guys never listen to any of my orders!" Leo said as he swiftly swiped his blade into Raph's sais. Raph expertly twisted his weapon to stop Leo's swords from getting any closer to his face. "Because your orders are stupid! You somehow seem to find the longest and most complicated ways to fight." Raph mentioned while pushing his brothers swords farther away. "It's called a strategy, and it's saved our lives in the past!" Leo countered. The two were so busy fighting with words and weapons that they didn't notice their younger brothers and Sensei enter the room. Their father stood and watched his two eldest sons battle. While he was disappointed by their actions, but he was also slightly impressed. He had witnessed each of his sons fighting one another, and it broke his heart each time. But Leo and Raph seemed to be using fighting techniques that he hadn't seen them use in a long while. He would be sure to bring these old moves back into training.

"That is enough!" Splinter yelled, startling not only Raph and Leo but his two youngest as well. "You two are trained warriors, I do not expect you to act like five-year-olds" Splinter scolded. Leo immediately lowered his weapons and looked down to the ground, clearly ashamed to have his anger overcome his morals. Raph on the other hand only felt his fury enrage. "Master Splinter, can you remind me again why you let Leo of all people be leader!?" Raph asked as he threw his sais back into their holders. "Because Leonardo possesses several traits that you do not. Such as grace under pressure, and the ability to think beyond the mind." Splinter answered. Mikey couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped his lips. Donnie quickly shoved his elbow into his little brother's stomach to shut him up. Leo silently smiled at his feet after hearing his sensei complement him. But unfortunately, Raph saw it. "What? You think this is funny, Fearless?!" Raph asked, stepping closer towards his older brother.

"No, I just think it's fitting that our father is telling you everything you're doing wrong." Leo said, looking up. "This is what I mean! You're always thinking you're better than us because Splinter's always praising you!" Raph yelled. "Enough Raphael!" Splinter started. "Leonardo. I find it immature of you to take Raphael's anger and turn it against him. You are the leader, and as such you must help your team become stronger as a unit, not throwing more fuel onto the fire" Splinter continued as he looked towards his second eldest. "And you, Raphael. If you do not learn to control your anger, more could be at risk than any of us intended." Splinter finished. "Yeah, yeah. I know, but Sensei. Leo's always using his power to boss us around and he never le-" Raph started before he was interrupted. "Raph, why can't you see that I'm only doing these things to keep you guys safe?!" Leo yelled. "Maybe I'll start seeing it when you start doing it!" Raph yelled back. "I don't know if you've noticed lately, but you're really bad at making plans. You're really bad at leading this team, and you're really bad at being my brother!" Raph finished, walking away to his room. If he had stayed a bit longer, he might have seen the broken and defeated look in his older brother's eyes. Clenching his fist, Leo swiftly walked forwards to his room as well. Neither saying another word.

Splinter's ears met his head as he looked down with a saddened look. It never failed to hurt Splinter's heart each time he watched his sons fight. But he knew that Raphael in particular could take those fights too far without even realizing it. He looked up to see Donatello wrapping an arm over Michelangelo, giving him a small side hug. Splinter smiled at the relationship his two youngest had, but frowned at the relationship his two eldest had. Raphael had a tendency to act before thinking, and Leonardo the opposite. Making up his mind, Splinter walked back from where he came and called out to the two remaining turtles. "I will be in my room, meditating. Please keep it down to a dull roar." Splinter finished before closing the door. Meditating always seemed to calm his mind and help him think of solutions in a better way. But it was always a bit difficult to reach that state of relaxation when you have four teenage boys living together.

"What do we do now?" Mikey asked, looking up to his genius brother. "I guess we just wait. Don't provoke either of them." Donnie warned, also heading to his room. Mikey felt stuck in the middle, knowing that he shouldn't anger Leo or Raph but feeling like he should talk to one of them. Maybe try to ease the tension. Sighing, and feeling defeated Mikey slowly walked to his room. Once the door closed, another opened. Raph needed to be extra cautious and extra quiet if he was going to sneak out without being heard. He knew for a fact that Leo was the most skilled out of all of them, and was also a light sleeper. But if he could just make it past the turnstiles, he'd be home free. He only grabbed his sais and decided to leave his T-phone so they couldn't track him. After all, he was sneaking out to get _away_ from his family. Still feeling the effects of the latest outburst, Raph ran as quickly and quietly as he could. Making out into the sewer tunnels. He found the ladder reaching up to the surface and started to climb. Once he was at the top, he lifted the lid and set it down as gently as possible to not make any more noise then needed. Once he put the cover back on, he finally felt freedom.

Freedom from the lair, freedom from rules, and restrictions. And Leo. Taking in a big breath, Raph jumped up onto the wall to reach the top of the building. Raph started to run, getting faster and faster. He could feel the wind picking up his bandanna tails as he raced across the rooftops. He jumped over satellite dishes and vents, hopping over the edges of the buildings and looking at the street below. Raph gently smiled at how good the new, cold air felt on his face. But all of the sudden, he felt like he wasn't alone. Raph jumped down to a street with almost no cars and made his way to an alley using skilled stealth. Keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, Raph drew his sais out and spoke.

"Come out, I know you're there!" he yelled. The shadow Raph had been keeping his eyes on moved forward and what he saw only made him more angry. "What are _you_ doing here?!" he yelled. "I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid." Leo answered. "Well, I don't need a babysitter. So you can just head back to the lair." Raph said with a tone that aggravated Leo. "You know, if I actually care-" Leo stopped and swiped his hands up to grab his katanas. Raph was about to ask Leo if he was delusional, but then he caught sight of what Leo had seen. A footbot.


	2. Trapped

**I'd like to say thank you to EchoKazul and Raphaelfangirl4real for giving me some tips on how to structure the story. I hope this is better. Enjoy!**

 _Raph was about to ask Leo if he was delusional, but then he caught sight of what Leo had seen. A footbot._

One footbot, then three. Then seven. Now fifteen. Raph's lips curled back as he drew out his sais and got ready for a fight. But there weren't that many, this would be a cake walk. Raph let out a battle cry and dived head first into the group of robots. Leo followed soon after. Ever kick or punch the two turtles threw, the farther away the footbots jumped. Soon enough, the turtles had cornered the group into a group of trees. Rare to see in New York City, but the local Natural Community Workshop had encouraged enough people to start growing something similar to a mini forest. Giving the final blow to the last of the footbots, Leo looked around to check if there was anymore surprise visitors. He didn't sense anything coming to attack, but he did feel a strange feeling in the center of his gut. A feeling that he could only describe as Dread.

Raph on the other hand was itching to get into another fight. To be able to stick his weapons through an object without killing anything. Keeping his anger about him, Raph started kicking and punching at the tree he was in front of. Leo only rolled his eyes at his younger brother's patience. But before he could place his blades back in their holders, another group of footbots came charging at them. Raph smiled. "More footbots? This is too good to be true!" he said as he greatly charged into the second fight. Leo was now on high alert. One group of footbots was considered normal, he found it weird that there was only a small amount, but it was normal. But two groups of only a small number of footbots was a little weird. Even weirder was that the footbots were all backing up in the same place. They were leading him and Raph deeper into the forest. Leo didn't like this one bit.

But before he could get a word out, the footbots suddenly started to attack more violently and more powerful than they had before. Raph and Leo were now the ones backing up. Dodging a ninja star aimed for his head, Leo felt the weapon bury itself into his shoulder, but he payed no attention to it. He looked over his shoulder to see a box. In the middle of the woods. Leo now saw what the footbots were doing. They were backing the turtles up into this little box, and Leo had no intention to find out why. "Raph! We have to move!" Leo yelled.

"What?! No way, we have to finish the fight!" Raph countered as he kept fighting while taking another few steps back.

"Raph, listen to me! We have to get out of here!" Leo said as he looked back again. He could now clearly see the big box, but not only see it but feel it as well. The closer they got to the mysterious box, the colder it got. Leo couldn't figure out what the initial plan of their enemy was, as he was too busy to think about anything but the fight. But he knew it wouldn't be good. Throwing one of his katana's into their holders, he quickly took his T-phone out and pressed the distress button. He would've texted one of his brothers to tell them what was happening, but a ninja star destroyed his phone before he could do anything else.

Leo really started to worry when they were no more than 15 feet away from the box. Raph must of also felt the temperature change because he looked back to see what the cause of the coldness was. When he did, the footbots took their advantage and used a roundhouse kick to push the turtles into the cube. Raph gave a small cry of pain before hitting the ground. Almost immediately, Leo gained his balance and stepped up to stop the footbots, but he was too late. The door had slam shut. In a fit of anger, Leo used his katana on the door. But it had no affect. He punched, kicked, and slammed his entire body into the door. But all he managed to do was give himself a few more bruises. "Well this is just great!" Raph pronounced, throwing his sais back into their pockets while sitting on the floor.

"Not only did we lose a fight to _footbots_ , but now we're trapped in this-what is this thing? This, this BOX!" Raph yelled. "And it's all your fault!"

Leo froze. "How is this _my_ fault!?" Leo asked.

"If you hadn't followed me, those footbots would never have found me and we wouldn't be here!" Raph countered.

"As I recall, I was the one who told you that coming up to the surface was a bad idea. I told you that gang activity was higher than usual and I told you that the Shredder was still hunting us. No doubt he's behind this." Leo said, mumbling the last part to himself.  
Leo kept talking.  
"I told you to not come up here, but did you listen? No! Because you let your ego and anger get the better of you! If you learned to control your anger better, we wouldn't get into these kinds of problems." Leo finished.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion" Raph retorted.

Leo said nothing, remembering his Sensei's words. "Let's just focus on getting out of here" Leo said, stepping away from the door and looking for another way out.

"It's no use. We're trapped." Raph said, turning his shell to one of the corners. "Just call the B Team and tell them where we are." Raph said. Leo took out his T-phone, which still had the ninja star stuck in the screen.  
"Why don't _you_ call them." Leo said, putting his T-phone back in his belt. As Leo put his T-phone back in it's pocket, he felt a stab of pain in his shoulder. Looking down, he noticed the small ninja star lodged in his skin. Looking back to make sure Raph wasn't looking, Leo quickly pulled the weapon out and shoved it into his belt. He moved his holder straps to cover the wound as Raph talked.

"I left my phone back at the lair. My goal was to get _away_ from you guys." Raph mumbled, frowning. Silence then lingered on for a few minutes, Raph stayed sitting down while he watched Leo try to find a flaw in the trap they were now in. A while passed without any sound from either turtle, until Raph shivered. "Is it just me, or did it just get colder in here?" Raph asked.  
Leo stopped examining the walls and started to pay more attention to the temperature around him. It was colder than before.

"It's probably just really cold outside and the temperature is affecting the box." Leo answered. Raph scoffed at Leo's answer, and that's when Leo lost it.

"What's your problem with me?" Leo asked, becoming fed up with Raph's attitude. "All you ever do is tell me what I'm doing wrong, like you could do better. I'm done with your attitude, so if you want to get out of this trap I suggest you start helping me find a way out instead of just sitting there and sulking." Leo said.  
Raph said nothing but rolled his eyes and stood up to help his older brother find a way out. But as he did, he put pressure on his ankle and stumbled. Leo looked to Raph with a questioning look, but Raph brushed it off, hoping his brother wouldn't question it. It didn't take long to search the entire box, after all, it was only the size of a small tree house. You couldn't even fit a regular sized bed in it. As for how tall it was, it wasn't too tall but at least they didn't have to crouch down.

"Okay, it's definitely gotten colder." Raph said, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Yeah, definitely" Leo added, looking around one last time before finally giving up. Hopefully Donnie had gotten his S.O.S.

* * *

Master Splinter hadn't come out of his room, he was still meditating. He had gotten a strange feeling that he usually only got when his sons needed him. He had been trying to reach Leonardo through meditation, but the only problem was both people needed to be meditating for it to work. But Master Splinter kept trying. Mikey was also still in his room, most likely playing with his T-phone. Ever since Donnie had invented them, Mikey had been bad about staying up late and playing games on it. Sometimes he would stay up so late he would be too tired for training the next day. Donnie was no different. He too had a bad habit of staying up late and missing the extra hours of sleep that he most likely needed. Unlike Mikey, Donnie usually stayed up brainstorming or working on his other inventions to make them better. He would sometimes invent a whole new gadget in one night.

But tonight, Donnie was a little stressed and very worried. He had received an alert from Leo's T-phone, which meant he was in trouble. Donnie hadn't told Mikey nor his Sensei about the alert, he didn't want to involve them until he knew his facts. He knew it was Leo's T-phone that had sent the alert, and he had started to track it, but the signal was suddenly cut off. He then tried Raph's T-phone as he noticed that his hot-headed brother was also missing. The signal worked, but it had said that he was in the lair. After following the signal to Raph's room, Donnie discovered that Raph had left his phone there. Walking back to his lab, Donnie felt defeated. He didn't know what else to do. His two older brothers were missing, and he had no way to find them.


	3. Frozen

_He didn't know what else to do. His two older brothers were missing, and he had no way to find them._

The two eldest had given up on trying to find a way out. Raph sat down in the same corner as last time, with his shell to the two meeting walls. He was playing with one sai, trying to balance the tip on one of his three fingers. Leo had given up trying to cure his boredom, so he had sat on his legs, hands on knees. He steadied his breathing and closed his eyes. Maybe he could reach his Sensei. It took a few tries, but Leo had finally made it to what Splinter had explained as the Astral Plain. He hoped that his Sensei would also be here.  
"Master Splinter?" Leo asked. He looked around, but the only thing that met his eyes was a white abyss. "Master Splinter!" Leo said again, louder. Still no answer. Leo tried one more time. "Sensei!"

'He's not here' Leo thought, frowning. He was starting to fade out of the meditation and back into the real world when he heard a familiar voice.

"Leonardo! My son!"  
"Sensei!" Leo yelled again.  
"Leonardo, my son. What are you doing here?" Splinter asked as he watched as his son walked closer to him.

"I was hoping to find you. We need help. These footbots came out of nowhere and started attacking us, next thing we know we're trapped in this box that keeps getting colder." Leo explained.  
Splinter's eyes went wide. He knew for sure that Shredder was the cause of his sons imprisonment, he also knew how dangerous it was for his sons to get too cold. They were cold-blooded after all.

"Where are you my son" Splinter asked.  
"I'm not sure. But I do know that we were headed deep into the Community forest before we got stuck in the box." Leo said.  
"This is valuable information, Leonardo. I will inform Donatello. Leonardo, you must promise me that you will do what you can to keep you and your brother safe." Splinter said, as he opened his eyes to the real world. Leo's icy blue eyes also shot open to see that their situation hadn't changed.

"Have a good nap?" Raph asked, dropping his sai.  
"It wasn't a nap. I was meditating to see if I could get a hold of Splinter" Leo replied, watching as Raph picked up his weapon from the ground.

"Well? Did you?" Raph asked.  
"Yeah, and I told him where we are, but it was really quick." Leo answered.  
"Hopefully the brainiac can find us" Raph said, mainly to himself.

Raph softly chuckled to himself as he started to remember when Donnie had complained about Raph always calling him 'brainiac'. Turns out, Brainiac was the name of a super villain in the comics they used to read as kids. Raph only started calling him the name because in the comics, Brainiac was really smart, and Donnie was really smart. Then the name just stuck. Raph smiled at the memory before looking up to see Leo once again closing his eyes and breathing deeply.

Raph rolled his eyes, he would never understand meditation. Sure, Master Splinter had made him try it for a training exercise before, but only Leo had mastered it. Just like his older brother to always be perfect and show him up. Raph looked around at the little box they were both trapped in. It had most definitely colder, but only Donnie would know just how many degrees colder.

"You ever gonna stop meditating and actually focus on the real world?" Raph asked, breaking Leo from his concentration. Leo sighed, he would never get any peace and quiet with Raph around. Opening his eyes, Leo looked straight at Raph and didn't look away.  
"What?" Raph asked.  
"Why do you do that?" Leo asked back.  
"Do what?"

"You know I'm meditating to try and get a hold of Splinter." Leo explained, "So why do you do that?" Leo asked again. Raph stated to understand what Leo meant.

"Because you've already contacted him, so doing it again is probably pointless." Raph started before talking again, "And you have to help get us outta here."

Leo looked down at the floor. He knew his brother had a short fuse, so he probably shouldn't tell Raph what he was feeling. Leo had always done his best to keep his emotions in check, but Raph knew just what buttons to press.

"I don't have to help with anything" Leo said calmly.  
"What!?" Leo could feel it, Raph was about to explode, but he didn't care. "Of course you have to help. We have to get outta here!" Raph yelled.

"I don't have to do anything" Leo repeated a little louder this time.  
"What's wrong with you, Leo?" Raph asked, standing up. "You have to get us out of here or we'll freeze!" Raph finished.

"I don't have to do anything, and I'm sick and tired of having to do stuff" Leo said, standing up as well.  
"I always have to make sure that you and the others are safe and if you aren't I get in trouble. I have to train extra hours and make sure I'm always in between you and danger. I always have to be the responsible one and I always have to take the blame. For once in my life, I don't have to do anything. You and I can freeze in here and never get out for all I care!" Leo yelled.

Raph was speechless.

He had only seen Leo yell a couple times, and he had never seen Leo so distressed. He watched as his older brother sat back down and folded his arms across his knees and hid his face. Raph stayed standing, thinking about what just happened.

Leo always had responsibilities and Splinter had always been putting pressure on him to be perfect.  
Raph sighed, he hated showing weakness and being soft, but when it came to his brothers he would do anything.

"Look, Leo. Um, I, we didn't. Ugh. Well, we all, we're. We, I didn't mean to." Raph said, stumbling over his own words. Leo almost smiled at Raph's words. He knew his brothers cared about him, and on a normal day he didn't mind having to take responsibility, but everyone has their breaking point. And Leo just crossed his.  
Raph heard Leo sigh from under his arms.

"No, I'm sorry I blew up on you. Lets just focus on getting out of here, I guess." Leo said as he stood up as he gave a semi-forced smile. Both turtles shivered, they look to each other as Leo gave a knowingly look. They needed to find a way out of here, and fast.

"How much longer do you think we can stay in here?" Raph asked.  
"I don't know. Not much longer." Leo said as he did his best to stop his teeth from shivering.  
Both brothers knew being cold-blooded had it's downfalls, as they couldn't stand the cold for very long. Leo started to notice as they walked around the limited space they had, Raph started to shiver more violently.

"You okay?" Leo asked.  
"I'm fine." Raph answered, not turning to face his brother.  
"Raph, don't do this." Leo warned.

"I'm not doing anything, I told you I'm fine" Raph answered again, starting to get mad.  
"Raph, I know something's bothering you. Please just tell me. We don't know how long we're going to stay in here, so if you don't tell me what's wrong we won't ever get along." Leo said, gently and cautiously walking towards his younger brother.

Raph took in a shaky breath and sighed. He stepped forward to face his brother, but his ankle gave up from under him and he fell to the ground. Leo's quick reflexes kicked in and he caught Raph before his head hit the ground.  
Unfortunately, the sudden weight pulled on Leo's shoulder and he gave a short yelp and quickly dropped to the ground with Raph.  
The two mutants said nothing as the caught their breath. Leo smiled at how ridiculous they looked. With Raph's head almost on top of Leo's leg.

"What was that?" Raph asked, as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.  
"You tell me. You're the one that almost fell face first on the floor." Leo answered.  
Leo's mind immediately went to the cause of the fall and remembered that Raph had fallen because of his leg. "Are you hurt?!" Leo asked, rushing his hands down to feel for anything out of the ordinary. Raph just rolled his eyes as his big brother scanned for injuries.

Leo's hands brushed down his legs and towards his feet. When a hand grabbed his left ankle, Raph gave a small gasp of shock and pain. Leo's hands immediately drew back, afraid he had hurt his brother.

"Ow, that kinda hurt." Raph admitted as he chuckled. Leo reached his hands down and slowly felt around Raph's ankle.  
"I think it's dislocated." Leo said.

"Great." Raph said sarcastically.  
"When did this happen?" Leo asked.  
"When the footbots pushed us in here." Raph said, hiding his face as if he were embarrassed.

"Well, you won't be walking for a while." Leo decided. As Leo pulled his arms back, the strap from his holder brushed against his shoulder and he hissed in pain.

"What's wrong?" Raph asked.  
"Nothing. It's nothing." Leo said as he stood up. Raph lifted one eyebrow and grabbed Leo's leg.

"If I couldn't get away with it, neither can you" Raph answered. Leo only rolled his eyes and sat back down.  
Leo said nothing, but only pulled back his strap to show a small but deep gash in his shoulder.  
"What's this!? Why were you hiding this from me?" Raph asked.

"We h-have to get out of here." Leo said, pulling the strap back and standing up before Raph could protest.  
"W-we won't get anywhere with my ankle and your shoulder" Raph pointed out.

"No, it's-s fine. We will get-t out of here." Leo said.  
"It's t-too cold." Raph answered back, wrapping his arms around himself. Leo sighed and watched his breath travel up.  
He walked back to his younger brother and sat down next to him.  
"Donnie'll find u-s" Leo said, closing his eyes. Raph followed suit, and the two were drowned in silence.


	4. Found

_Raph followed suit, and the two were drowned in silence._

"Guys. We have a problem." Donnie said, walking out of his lab.  
"I too have dire news." Splinter said.

"Leo and Raph are missing, but I-I don't know where they are." Donnie said, looking down at his fee.  
"I think I may be able to help with that." Splinter spoke up.

"Leonardo's contacted me through meditation and he has notified me of their situation and where they are." Splinter finished.  
"Great! Let's go get them!" Mikey yelled as he headed towards the subway tunnels. Until he stopped suddenly and turned around.  
"Uh...where are they exactly?" He asked, slightly smiling.

"Leonardo and Raphael are located in the Community Forest. You must hurry, I sense that any wrong move can lead to a life long mark." Splinter warned as the two youngest raced out to get to the surface. Once they got above ground, Donnie brought out his T-phone.  
"Okay, I've got Leo's location, well, his T-phone anyway. Hopefully they aren't too far." Donnie said, mainly to himself. He didn't know what kind of trouble his two older brothers were in, but he sure hoped they were alright.

* * *

"H-how's your f-foot?" Leo asked, looking down at his immediate younger brother.  
"F-feels great. N-never been b-b-better." Raph answered sarcastically. Leo gave a slight, strained chuckle. Even while he's freezing to death, he still has his smart quips.  
"H-how's your sh-shoulder?  
Raph asked back, looking up at the leader.

"I'm f-fine. D-don't ev-ven feel it" Leo replied. The reply hung in the air for a while. Leo was still trying to find a way to get out, or at least find a way to get Raph out while still trying to keep him and his brother warm.  
Raph on the other hand was trying to find a way to apologize, but not sound weak or soft at the same time. He had been doing some thinking while he was grounded, and he had remembered the words that Leo had said.

'You think I chose to be leader?' and 'I only do it to protect you, Donnie and Mikey' Raph hadn't been paying attention in the moment, but now that he was remembering back, he could've sworn there were tears in Leo's eyes.

He hadn't thought about it much, but whenever he and Leo fought, Leo always seemed to lead his words out of sadness instead of anger.  
"uh...L-leo. I hav-ve to tell you s-someth-thing." Raph stuttered.

"D-don't. S-save your en-nergy." Leo replied.  
"I-I'm sorry." Raph said, not listening to his older brother.

"I wasn't think-king and I did-dn't-" Leo cut him off before he could say anymore.  
"Come h-here." Leo said quietly.  
"Why?" Raph asked as he moved closer.  
"Jus-st do it" Leo said, holding his arms slightly out so Raph could use him as a blanket.

Leo became even more concerned when his quick tempered brother didn't say anything, but instead wrapped himself in Leo's arms.

Raph had never been one to show his affection and love for his brothers. He thought it made him look weak, or soft, but it was just too cold for him to care anymore. He had no more energy to keep up the tough-guy act.  
Leo let out a shaky sigh and wrapped his arms tighter around Raph's shivering form. The eldest silently hoped that the rest of his family was close, he wasn't sure how long they would last. He looked down to find that Raph had fallen asleep. Leo had to squint and lean in a bit closer, but he swore Raph's lips looked faintly blue.

As he was looking down, he also noticed that both he and Raph's fingers were tinged a light blue as well.  
Leo was at a loss, all he wanted to do was hug his brother and take him away from the cold. But he knew he couldn't, and that's what hurt the most.

All he could do was close his eyes and hope for the best. He didn't know if Raph was feeling what he was feeling, but his lungs were hurting. Leo sucked in a small breath of cold air and tugged his little brother tighter. A few more minutes passed and Leo hoped he wasn't going crazy.

"-over-past. Thellb ine."  
Leo looked up and tried to call out, but it only came out as a hoarse whisper-shout.  
"In h-here!"

The voices disappeared, and Leo closed his eyes again and swallowed hard. Had he just missed his chance? He heard a bump on the door in front of him.  
"D-donn-nie. M-mik-key" Leo whispered. His eyes were heavy and his hands and shoulder were numb.  
Three small beeps were heard, then a loud boom. Leo blinked and rested his head on his shoulders. Smoke made it's way to his mouth and he coughed.

"Raph!? Leo!?" A voice called. Donnie called out with a shiver. God! It was so cold in here!  
"Leo!" Mikey yelled, running forward. Donnie followed the youngest and landed on his knees in front of his two older brothers.

"Leo, oh gosh. What happened!? No. Never mind. We gotta get you guys outta here." Donnie stuttered.  
"Mikey, take Leo. I got Raph." Donnie instructed. Mikey nodded quickly and buried his arm under Leo's. Donnie lifted Raph up onto his shoulders and over on his back.

"Leo, you gotta lean on me." Mikey grunted as he stood up.  
"Wh-what ab-b-bout R-raph" Leo shivered.  
"He's okay, Leo. Donnie's got him" Mikey assured.

"Come on, Mikey. This way." Donnie's voice commanded. A few steps was all it took to drain the last of the leader's energy.

Mikey yelped as an unexpected weight pulled him down.  
"We have to hurry" Donnie said as he helped his baby brother get a better grip on his older brother. The walk was short, but not as short as Donnie or Mikey would have wanted.  
They made it to the lair to find Splinter waiting for them.  
"We have to get them warmed up as soon as possible." Donnie said, walking towards his lab. Mikey followed suit while Splinter wondered off to find blankets and heating pads.

Clearing two spaces on his desk, Donnie quickly but carefully placed Raph down and helped Mikey put Leo down as well.  
"What do we do, D?" Mikey asked.  
"Perhaps these will help." Splinters voice rang though the lab.

The two turtles looked back to see their sensei carrying blankets, heating pads and warm water.  
"Cover their cores with the heating pads and their arms and legs with the blankets." Donnie ordered.  
Mikey took the blankets from his fathers hands and placed them where his genius brother had told him to. While his brother and father were working, Donnie quickly found his only thermometer and walked to his hot headed brother.

He swiped the knob across Raphs forehead and watched the tiny screen as it processed the new information. When the device beeped, Donnie took in a big breath. His temperature wasn't as cold as he had anticipated, which was a good thing. But it wasn't a healthy or safe temperature either.  
Donnie hit reset and took Leo's temperature.  
It was around the same as Raphs, point three lower. At least they had a chance.

Once everything was taken care of, Splinter left to meditate in the dojo, leaving his youngest sons to care for his oldest.


	5. Hopefully

**Alright! Last chapter, guys. Thanks so much for reading, I hope it wasn't too terrible ;) Enjoy**

 _Once everything was taken care of, Splinter left to meditate in the dojo, leaving his youngest sons to care for his oldest._

After a few hours, Donnie had replaced the blankets and started up the heating pads again.  
"How long do we have to wait?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know. Their temperatures have gone up a few degrees which is good, but their bodies still have to recover on their own. A few more hours at least." Donnie answered.

"Okay" Mikey yawned. Donnie gave a small smile.  
"Why don't you go sleep. I'll go get you if they wake up, okay" Donnie said. Mikey seemed to contemplate this for a few seconds before slowly nodding and walking out.

Donnie gave a small sigh as he continued to work on his newest project. The Turtle Mech. Right now he was trying to figure out how to connect the main levers to the output of the claw on the right arm.  
It was proving a more difficult task than he originally thought. After a few more hours, Donnie decided to call it a night. He turned his computer off and walked over to his brothers to check their temperatures one last time. As he reached his hand out and touched Raphs arm, something moved.

It took a few seconds for Donnie to realize it was Raph's fingers that had moved every so slightly. "Raph? Raph can you hear me?" Donnie asked. He got no answer in return. Maybe he had just imagined it. But then a sound slowly crawled up from Raph's mouth.

"Raph. Can you hear me?" Donnie asked again.

"Y-yeah, I. I can he-hear ya" Raph whispered.  
Donnie exhaled a big breath of relief, immediately pulling on every bit of information on hypothermia he knew. Remembering the most important rules to follow, Donnie spoke, "Don't fall asleep, Raph. You have to stay awake for a little bit." Donnie said, as he readjusted the blankets.  
"Alright." Raph responded, moving his head to the side. Donnie quickly dashed out of the lab to find Mikey asleep on Raph's beanbag.

"Mikey, Raph's awake." Donnie said as he shook his baby brother awake.  
"Wha?" Mikey groaned.  
"Raph's awake" Donnie repeated. This new information woke Mikey up immediately.

"Why didn't you say something?" Mikey asked as he rushed into the lab. "I did!" Donnie replied as he followed.

Donnie followed Mikey as close as possible, watching as Raph's head spun over in their direction.  
"Raph, I was so scared you wouldn't wake up!" Mikey yelled as he grabbed Raph's head.  
"I-I'm okay, Mikey. Let go" Raph ordered.

"Sorry" Mikey apologized as his genius brother stepped in his place.  
"Raph. I need you to drink this tea Splinter made. It has a couple healing herbs in it, and the heat will help." Donnie explained.  
"Okay." Raph agreed. "You're gonna have to drink from a straw for now, just to be careful." Donnie said.

The genius helped his older brother sit up and lifted the cup to Raph's mouth.  
"Small sips" Donnie reminded.

The warm tea felt like heaven on his throat. Raph could feel it flowing down his neck and warming his chest. He complained when Donnie took the straw away from his lips. "Small. Sips." Donnie scolded as he set the cup down on the table next to him. Raph shivered as Mikey messed with the heating pad, "S-so how long h-have I been out?" Raph asked.  
"Not long. Maybe a day or so." Mikey answered.

"A d-day!?" Raph yelled.

"Not even a day. Maybe like, 10 hours or so." Donnie answered as he walked around with the thermometer.  
Donnie dragged the thermometer over Raph's forehead before Raph startled him suddenly.

"Wait! Wh-where's Leo? He was with me before I-" Mikey interrupted, "Calm down, dude. He's over there." Mikey said, pointing to the other side of the room.  
Raph twisted his head to where Mikey was pointing, and visually relaxed.  
"Is he okay?" Raph asked, his concern confusing the two youngest.  
"He's fine. Cold and unconscious like you were, but fine." Donnie answered before asking a question of his own.

"What happened in that freezer? You two looked about ready to tear each other's heads off last time we saw you" Donnie said.

Raph took a second to swallow before speaking.  
"Nothing happened, we just started talking and decided on some...things" Raph explained. Recalling on the memories, Raph spoke again. "Leo's hurt." Raph said, gaining Donnie's attention.  
"What?"  
"Leo's hurt" Raph repeated. "He's got a big gash on his shoulder." Raph pointed out.  
Donnie walked over to his oldest sibling while Mikey stayed with Raph.  
"Move his shoulder strap." Raph instructed. Donnie followed the instructions and inhaled when he saw the blood.

It wasn't as big as Donnie was expecting, but it would need stitches. "Thanks for telling me, Raph." Donnie said as he quickly reached for some alcohol and a needle and thread.  
He poured the alcohol on a cloth and dabbed the wound slightly. After cleaning and sanitizing it, Donnie started stitching it up. After wrapping some gauze around the shoulder, Donnie looked up and his head turned toward Raph. "Are you hurt anywhere?" Donnie asked, putting the gauze down.

Raph took a moment before replying "No". Donnie didn't believe it for a second.  
"Raph, where are you hurt?" Donnie asked.  
"Nowhere." Raph answered.  
"Raph, please. We just want to help." Mikey begged.

"His l-left f-foot" A voice answered from behind.  
"Leo!" Mikey yelled, rushing over to his big brother.  
"H-hey Mikey. Eas-sy" Leo smiled softly.  
"My bad." Mikey mumbled.

Donnie shook his head slightly at his little brother's antics as he swiped the thermometer across Leo's head. He looked at the number and frowned.  
"Still really cold. How do you feel?" Donnie asked, looking down at Leo.  
"Exhausted. How can you ev-ven wake up exhaust-ted?" Leo asked himself. Donnie smirked a bit before setting the heating pads back up to a high heat. Walking back to Raph, Donnie grabbed the gauze he used previously and hooked his hand under Raph's left ankle.

Raph hissed in pain.  
"Ow, Donnie. C-careful." Raph scolded.  
"Sorry." Donnie apologized before stating, "It's dislocated, we have to set it or it won't heal properly." Donnie explained.  
"Noooo" Raph moaned.

"Calm down, you big baby. With your body so cold, you won't even feel it." Donnie assured.  
"Fine" Raph sighed. Donnie set Raph's leg down and placed his hands on top of the joint. Raph took in a big breath as Donnie pushed down.

Raph flinched violently and as Leo watched, he didn't want to leave his brother alone.  
Leo slowly sat up before Mikey gently pushed him down.  
"You shouldn't move." Mikey said.  
"But, Raph" Leo argued. Mikey shook his head and held his hand on Leo's chest. Having just woken up, Leo couldn't overpower Mikey's strength. A gasp was heard from the other side of the room and Donnie's voice followed.  
"Okay, that's it. All done." Donnie said as he wrapped the joint.  
"You o-okay Raph?" Leo asked. "  
Y-yeah, just perfect." Raph replied.

The three remaining brother's chuckled at the response as Splinter entered the room. "I see you two have woken up. I am glad neither of you were greatly harmed." Splinter said, walking to his oldest son.

"Thanks sensei." Raph replied. Leo didn't say anything.  
"Leonardo. It was wise of you to send your brother a warning." Splinter spoke.  
"I am very impressed with your ability to reach the Astral Plain, that is something most masters never achieve." Splinter complemented again.

Leo glanced over at his hot-heated brother and frowned. "Thank you, sensei. But Raph was the one who helped the most." Leo said suddenly.  
"What? What did I do?" Raph asked, confused. All he really did was sit and complain.  
"You told it as it was and reminded me that giving up wasn't an option" Leo said.  
"It sounds like you two had a lot of time to talk." Splinter smiled.  
"Oh, yeah. Maybe a little too much time." Raph said. The five mutants smiled.

Leo and Raph would soon recover, and hopefully they would be closer than they were before. Hopefully everything would work out in the end. Hopefully.


End file.
